James Hayter

Biography
by Hal Erickson

Cherubic India-born actor James Hayter looked like a Dickens character come to life. Accordingly, his best-loved role was as Mr. Pickwick in the 1954 movie version of The Pickwick Papers. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Hayter made his earliest stage appearances in the late 1920s; his first film was the 1936 British effort Sensation. Hayter was one of the busiest character actors in the English film industry -- a result, perhaps, of the fact that he had seven children to support. In addition to his perfect Mr. Pickwick, James Hayter was a memorable Friar Tuck in the 1952 Disney production The Story of Robin Hood.